


When Fire Meets Thunder

by calorestan



Category: Red Queen Series - Victoria Aveyard
Genre: Alternate Canon, Canon Compliant, Canon Rewrite, F/M, First Time, Headcanon, Implied Sexual Content, My First Work in This Fandom, Romance, the scene they deserved, there’s no mud in this one lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:34:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23773177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/calorestan/pseuds/calorestan
Summary: What if marecal first time wasn’t in a forest?
Relationships: Mare Barrow/Tiberias "Cal" Calore VII
Comments: 22
Kudos: 187





	When Fire Meets Thunder

**Author's Note:**

> Although I was excited to share it with you guys, I was also very apprehensive, this is my first fic ever! I was missing those two idiots so much since I finished Broken Throne that I decided to write something, and why not start from trying to improve their first time scene? This one-shot takes place in King’s Cage chapter 22, some parts were taken from the original work. That is how I expected the scene to be, hope you enjoy.
> 
> All credits go to the incredibly talented and sweet Victoria Aveyard!

“We should go back,” Cal mutters to the top of my head. I feel his voice reverberate in his chest, my palm flat to where his heart rips a fast tempo. It thunders under my touch, in stark contrast to his calm face.

“We can take a shortcut to your bunk room, the barracks are closer than my house,” I say, tilting my head to look at him. 

His cocky smile sends a shiver down my body. 

"I bet I can get there first," he is leaning over to whisper in my ear.

"You don't have the agility of a thief," I reply.

"Oh, really?” Cal put a lock of soppy hair behind my ear and, taking advantage of my distraction, he detaches himself from my body and starts running.

It is not difficult to reach him, he tried to speed up when he saw me, but it wasn’t enough to stop me from overtaking him. I look back and stick my tongue out to Cal, but when I turn my attention to the route in front of me, I trip over my own legs and fall into a puddle of mud. Cal's laugh was so loud it overcame the sound of the thunder tracing the sky.

"Maybe your skills as a thief are rusty," he says, still laughing. "Are you okay?" Cal offers me an arm. Before accepting his help, I throw all the mud I get at him. "Yes, you idiot." and only then do I hold his hand. 

We keep running, hand in hand, I tell myself it's to help if any of us lose our balance again, but the sensation of Cal's callused fingers intertwined with mine makes something tugs deep inside me, somewhere I can't name.

And it seems like everything is a dream. The smile on his face. The drops of water falling lazily down his naked torso. The feeling of freedom. 

I’m ready to feel my heart breaking into millions of pieces when I wake up locked away in a cell, with nothing but Julian’s books and my own thoughts for company and realize that none of this was true. But the smell of wet earth and the familiar warmth emanating from Cal are too real and welcoming to be a figment of my imagination. 

I'm back, I’m finally free.

Cal's room is tiny, the walls are old and abraded, it has only one window and few furniture, completely different from any royal chamber, I wonder if he misses the luxuries he used to have.

Our clothes are dripping and staining the floor with mud.

"You should take a shower," he says, shaking his hair with one hand, which made it stood in spikes. I resist the urge to fix his strands. 

“I don't know how there is still roominess for a bathroom in this place,” I take off my wet boots. “It’s smaller than a closet, I’m surprise you can fit in.”

“How many times will I have to ask you not to insult my bunk room?“

I roll my eyes “You can shower first, I have to send a message to my parents and let them know I'm with you.”

"I'm glad you give me the magnificence of one last hot shower before your dad kills me," he says, opening a drawer and throwing a towel at me, I grab it. 

“It's the least I can do for you, Your Highness,” Cal grimaces at the title and heads towards the bathroom.

The walls are so thin that I can hear it when he turns on the shower and lets out a groan of relief the moment the hot, clean water meets his skin. I banish the thought of other sounds I would like to hear Cal making and try to focus on contacting my family. The device we all use to communicate is on a table next to his bed.

One, two attempts and none answers, I release a growl of frustration, when I don’t succeed for the third time I put the device in place, Farley once said that rain damages the connection. I remain still, the weight of my wet clothes stuck to my skin makes me feel uncomfortable and a suddenly chill wave slides over my limbs, I need to tighten my jaw to prevent my teeth from chattering. 

Before I decide if it's a wise decision, I walk forward the bathroom and open the door slowly, to give myself time to return if I regret it.

The water vapor took over the ambient and I can only see Cal's silhouette. He doesn't seem to notice my presence until the sound of my soaked clothes hitting the floor makes him stiffen and open the shower stall. Both hands are on fire and he is in fighting position, I realize that I am the last person he expected to see, but the tension in his shoulders dissipates and he drops his arms as soon as his gaze travels down my body—and there are no more flames besides the ones burning inside his eyes. Enough to set the whole Piedmont base on fire.

For a long, heavy moment, we stared at each other without saying a word, without almost daring to breathe. Fighting the urge to cringe under his inspection, I amble towards him with light, cautious steps. All the cold I felt was gone, replaced by a bubbling heat in the pit of my stomach.

“Did you think someone would try to attack you during bath? It would be a low blow.” the joke pulls a smile from his lips.

"You really like a triumphal entrance, don't you, Barrow?" he whispers when I join him and close the shower. 

"Are you going to tell me you didn't like the surprise?" I ask, approaching him so that there is no space between us.

"That was not what I said, I thought it was a..." he swallows when my hand runs over his bare chest until it reaches the back of his neck. “A lovely surprise,” his voice drops to a whisper. The air around is significantly warmer, he was never good at controlling his emotions. 

I pull Cal close and kiss him. It is different from the kisses we trade earlier, it is different from any kiss. It is Cal’s same gentle lips, the same astute tongue, but the heat in my stomach now spreads to every inch of my body, making my blood boil and my heart is beating so fast I am sure Cal hears it pounding. Time seems to stop, everything shrank down to the way he bites my bottom lip. My mind goes blank, I can’t recall the constant weight of my burdens threatening to crush me down and the sight of cold blue eyes fades to blurs. I can't think of anything but him. I can barely remember how to breathe. 

I can only concentrate on is his hot hands slipping around my waist, my back, my hips—tender and strong, soothing every not of tension in my muscles. Cal isn't going to put them anywhere else without my permission. He moves me subtly so my back is to him, my body freezes when I feel something solid against my spine and I drive away the impulse to bury my face in my hands in order to hide the blush on my cheeks.

He takes a bottle of shampoo and starts massaging my scalp, making affable movements while he works in silence. Cal kisses my cheek when he finishes. With one hand he pulls all the hair off my right shoulder, whereas the other one traces a path down my arm, I feel my body sparkle with each touch and I know he notices the effect it has on me when he bites down my neck. I’m aware that it will leave marks, but I'm not rationing too well to care. A shameful noise escapes my throat and I feel the twist of his lips over my skin. 

I turn to face his glowing eyes and wide grin, deciding to return the favor. I stand on tiptoe and squeeze a generous amount of shampoo over his head and keep my attention on the tangle of hair between my fingers. He doesn't wait for the water to rinse off all the foam on the top of his head before leaning his weight on my body, pinning me against the tile and kissing me, this time deeply, his mouth almost feels desperate against mine. I don’t try to hide the goosebumps, but I remind myself to contain my sparks. “Cal," I gasp, my voice came out breathless.

He moves away. "Did I hurt you?" 

"No, no." I answer too quickly. “I just... I just don’t wanna...” 

“That’s okay, I—I’m sorry... I didn’t mean to hurry you.” 

“I was going to say that don’t want to do it right here.” I clarify. 

“Oh, thank my colors, this bathroom is so small.” he smirks. 

I go out first, feeling him exploring every inch of my bare skin, and I cover my shoulders with a towel to dry myself.

“I don’t think we’ll need this,” Cal claims lifting me up, I wrap my legs around his waist as he carries both of us to his narrow bed.

He places me beneath him on the mattress, very carefully, as if I were made of porcelain and he was afraid of shatter me. I’m already irreparably broken, are the words I want to say, but I can’t manage to speak under the touch of his delicate fingertips and the softness shining in his eyes when he meets my gaze. My hand goes to the back of Cal’s neck, trying to draw him closer as he straddles his hips and leans down to press our foreheads together. 

“What are you thinking?” I ask abruptly. 

“I’m thinking,” his voice sounds dangerously husky and I feel another kind of electricity racing in my veins. “That I might set us both on fire if you keep looking at me like this.” 

I giggle. “You should take your bracelet off, then.” he retreats, disconnecting our bodies and using his teeth to unlatch his flamemaker bracelets. That’s when I dare to look down, I avoided to see Cal’s entire body during the whole shower. I know he followed my gaze because I hear his chuckle. 

“Can I?” he points to the fabric that is still around my body. I nod and Cal tosses the towel on the floor, I wanted to laugh at the marveled look over his face, Cal stares at me like he can’t believe I’m right in front of him, as if there’s a possibility I will disappear and leave him again at any moment. “You...” he says against my belly. “Are...” Cal continues, his lips coming up to my breast. “The most beautiful...” they’re on my collarbone now. “Thing I’ve ever seen.” he leaves more marks on my neck. 

“Have you done this before?” I should be terrified, but after six months of sitting by his brother’s side, lending my entire being to an evil cause, I have no fear of giving my body to a person I love, I’m not regretted of give in to his arms. 

He tips his head back, and I almost whine in protest. “No,” he whispers, looking away. His jaw tightens, as if ashamed.

So like Cal, to feel embarrassment for something like this. He likes to know the end of a path, the answer to a question before asking. 

I cup his jaw, brushing my thumb against it, forcing his eyes back to mine. His gaze holds nothing but a fierce desire. “I’m not afraid, Cal, I trust you.” Trust. The word always makes my insides crawl but now it sounds right, I need him more than I want to admit. He takes one of my wrist slowly in his hands and for the first time I don’t flinch away, I let Cal press a linger kiss on my pulse where the silent stones used to be, he could surely feel my heartbeats. “I’ll stop if you want me to, okay?” I’m not a monster like my brother, I’m not cabale of hurting you, he’s trying to say. 

I nod and surrender to this different, passionated and untamable need, I let it consume me, creep into my chest. Every caress, each rub of our skin, all the urgency makes me feel like we’re the only people in the world and nothing else matters anymore, there’s no more war, no more fears. Cal’s name becomes the only language I can speak. 

And when we’re finished, my body is paralyzed, drowned in ecstasy. I can get use to this, I think for a long moment. He lies down by my side, his chest rising and falling in a unsteady rhythm. 

“During those 6 months there wasn’t a single day that I didn’t miss you,” I whisper, allowing myself to confess. “The hope of seeing you again... the thought of touching you once more kept me sane.” I’m staring at the peeling painting from the ceiling. My declaration makes me feel more vulnerable than being naked does. 

He doesn’t say anything, as if his brain is still trying to process all my words. The only sounds filling the room are our deep, uneven breaths and the blood racing in my ears, I even think Cal fell asleep. “I would’ve gone to hell to rescue you if I had to,” he says firmly, finally dispelling the dense silence that hung over us. His hands tugs my hips to pull me closer and we’re face to face now. The morning light radiating through the room's window is faint, but enough to illuminate the silver tone of his face. I study the lines that draw exquisitely from his cheekbone to his strong jaw, the angles define his skin so well that’s almost unfair. My heart skips a few beats, he looks impossibly handsome.

Would he take it back if I showed him all the dark confusion that plagues my mind? Would he still want me with all the incurable bruises his brother left behind?

“Don’t look at me like that,” he hisses. My eyes narrow in confusion. “Like you doubt me,” Cal says, as if my uncertainty offended him. “My world is upside down, Mare, I’m lost and I have so many questions...but you were never one of them, life only makes sense when you’re around.” 

Cal held me when my nightmares wouldn’t let me sleep, he saw what I was capable of in Corros Prison, he faced all my demons, and yet he decided to stay. All my worries seem irrelevant now, there’s no part of me that he hasn’t seen and he decided to stay.

I try to find my voice but the words melt in my tongue, so I nestle my head to his chest, hoping he understands that I believe him. I could sleep with his warmth wrapping me, but an electronic noise causes Cal to get up, I almost snort. The clatter comes from the communication device.

“Hello?” I chortle, I don’t know how I expected him to answer, but “hello” seemed a bit informal for a soldier. “Yeah, she’s here... Of course.” Cal gestures for me to approach. 

“Yes?” I ask, taking the apparatus. 

“Good morning, Miss Barrow, I’m calling from the local hospital to inform you that Captain Farley’s daughter was born...”

“I’ll be there in a few minutes.” I interrupt her and hung up. I glance at Cal, unable to conceal my surprise.

“What’s happening?” Cal asks concerned. 

“Farley just gave birth,” a mix of emotions is bouncing off my skin, I try to blink away the tears that start to burn in my eyes. 

“That’s... that’s amazing!” 

“We need to go to the hospital right now.” 

“Are you going outside like this?” only then I remember that I’m naked and my clothes are probably still drenched and dirty. 

“Shit,” I murmur.

“I wouldn’t mind it, though.” I drive my elbow into his ribs as he stride to his small wardrobe. 

“Ouch!” he grumbles. 

“Can you try to dry my pants at least?” I ask, ignoring his pain. 

“I can’t promise I won’t burn them,” he jokes giving me one of his shirts. 

“Wait, are we going to have to walk again? It’s still raining and we just took a shower.”

“No, you lazy, my vehicle is in the barracks’ parking garage along with the other officials transports.” 

“How fancy,” Cal’s shirt is so big that it ends at my knees. It smells like him, I bite back a silly smile and do not complain.

**Author's Note:**

> I honestly love the idea of Mare and Cal feeling safe and finding shelter in each other. After everything they went through, it was important for me to focus on how they showed affection and expressed intimacy not only through sexual ways.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!


End file.
